Monthly Archives: November 2017

The Snowman celebrates 20th anniversary with star-studded gala

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To celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Snowman being performed at Sadler’s Wells’ West End venue The Peacock theatre, we invited a number of celebrity guests to a special gala performance of the production.

The red-carpet event welcomed VIP guests to a pre-show reception with hands-on craft activities for their children, drinks in the interval and even the chance to meet the Snowman himself. Guests included musician, model and TV Presenter Myleene Klass, actor, singer and presenter Denise Van Outen, comedian Lee Mack, singers Kimberly Wyatt and Leah Wood, radio presenter Edith Bowman, television presenters Esther Rantzen and Gok Wan, actor and model Camilla Ruth

erford, barrister Cherie Blair, tattoo artist Sketch and actors Natascha McElhone, Mathew Horne, Natalie Cassidy, Anna Wilson-Jones and Georgia May Foote.

Bowman wrote on Twitter: “It’s beginning to feel a lot like Xmas. Love the #snowman17 #snowmanshowturns20 @sadlers_wells“, while Van Outen  posted: ‘We loved it! officialthesnowman @sadlers_wells what a fabulous snow ….. I mean show”.

We were delighted that The Snowman’s 20th anniversary stage production received such a warm welcome and look forward to many more fans and families enjoying the show during its run.

The Snowman is at The Peacock theatre until 31st December. You can book tickets here. How well do you know the story and production? Check our 20 facts about The Snowman here.

 Images: Piers Allardyce

20 facts about The Snowman

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The heart-warming tale of a young boy’s adventure with his magical snowman friend has returned to The Peacock stage to delight audiences for the 20th consecutive year this festive season.

To celebrate this special anniversary, we’re sharing 20 facts about this enchanting story and its stage and TV adaptations. How many did you know?

  1. The Snowman opened at The Peacock theatre in 1997, meaning it is the longest running Christmas theatre show ever made!
  2. The original Snowman story, written by Raymond Briggs and published in 1978, doesn’t mention Christmas at all. The scene where the young boy and the snowman visit Father Christmas was added to the television adaption, but never appeared in the original book.
  3. The author Raymond Briggs admitted that there is more to this magical festive tale than meets the eye. The story was actually meant to introduce children to the concept of mortality. He said to the Radio Times: “I create what seems natural and inevitable. The snowman melts, my parents died, animals die, flowers die. Everything does. There’s nothing particularly gloomy about it. It’s a fact of life.”
  4. There are a number of different introductions to the television adaption. One of these features legendary British popstar David Bowie starring as the young boy many years later, wearing the scarf given to him by his snowman friend.
  5. There are 60 costumes in The Snowman stage production, all of which are handmade by the costume department at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.
  6. The show employs 265 individual props, ranging from lumps of coal for the snowmen’s noses to toy soldiers, a sleigh and even a motorcycle with a sidecar!

  1. Far from the snowy surroundings the story is set in, Howard Blake, the composer of the iconic song Walking In The Air, said that the idea for the song actually came to him whilst he was walking along a beach in Cornwall.
  2. Staying with the beach theme, The Snowman is said to be set in Sussex, near Brighton. We know this because, in the television adaption, the snowman and the young boy fly over Brighton pier and Brighton Pavillion.
  3. Director of the stage production Bill Alexander said in a Guardian interview that he originally had dancer Carlos Acosta in mind for the role of Jack Frost!

  1. Since its release in 1982, the television adaption of The Snowman has been shown every single year at Christmas time.
  2. The Snowman cast can perform up to three shows per day. Because of the working restrictions, particularly for younger actors, three boys play the part of the Boy, and two men play the part of the Snowman.
  3. There are 42 people working on each performance of The Snowman, including 17 dancers, five musicians and 20 stage crew.
  4. Similarly to the book and the television adaption, The Snowman stage production has no words and the story is told through mime, images and movement.
  5. The pineapple and coconut costumes used in the stage version are very difficult to get into and the performers need to make very fast costume changes. To solve the problem, the crew decided to rig a pulley system last year for the costumes to be lowered from above onto the dancers just before they go on stage.

  1. Many people believe that it was Aled Jones who originally sang Walking In The Air, as he had a top 10 hit with the song in 1985, but the original was actually performed by Peter Auty, a choirboy at St Paul’s Cathedral.
  2. There were originally two different versions of The Snowman stage production. Director Bill Alexander worked with composer Howard Blake on a version at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, but there was also a ballet version, created by Robert North for his ballet company in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1993. The version we see today incorporates elements of both productions.
  3. Each of the 11 snowman costumes took one week to make. The costumes are created from more than 11 miles of white net!
  4. While watching the television of The Snowman on Christmas Day, the crew working on the stage show have been known to stand up automatically at certain points to do something onstage, forgetting they are at home!
  5. To mark the 30th anniversary of the original film’s release, a sequel to the original film was released in 2012, called The Snowman and The Snowdog.
  6. Last year, the two snowmen made a music video of themselves miming to the classic Christmas song Stay Another Day by East 17. You can watch it here!

The Snowman runs at The Peacock theatre 23 November – 31 December. You can book tickets here.

 

Images: Tristram Kenton

Pupils explore solar system through dance

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Following the successful premiere of his latest work 8 Minutes on our stage in the summer, Sadler’s Wells’ New Wave Associate Alexander Whitley has worked with Islington pupils to engage them creatively with the science curriculum through dance.

Alexander was inspired by solar science research to create 8 Minutes, a full-length piece combining dance, music and film to investigate concepts such as gravity, orbiting and magnetism through movement. Supported by our Learning and Engagement team, his eponymous dance company devised workshops to be delivered alongside the stage production.

In October, the company spent a week at the Gillespie School in Islington, one of Sadler’s Wells’ associate schools, working with a class of year-5 students to explore the similarities between artistic and scientific processes and using each of them to shed light on the other. The aim was to introduce the children to often abstract and complex scientific concepts by illustrating them through the medium of dance.

The participating class worked with two professional dancers from Alexander Whitley Dance Company, as well as a scientist and a choreographer, to explore solar science and specifically the themes of planets, scale, magnets and orbits through choreography. At the end of the week, the students presented their work to the whole school.

In November, the class performed in our Lilian Baylis Studio to an audience including parents, patrons of Sadler’s Wells and our Artistic Director and Chief Executive Alistair Spalding. Alongside the students’ performances, the evening included a speech from Alexander Whitley about the project, a Q&A with Alexander and the students, and the performance of a short excerpt of 8 Minutes.

We were proud to support this project and work closely with Alexander to encourage primary school students within our local community to approach their science curriculum in a creative way, and to emphasise the role of dance in inspiring curiosity, imagination and knowledge in young people.

Images by Stephen Wright

Sadler’s Wells supports air quality campaign

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Sadler’s Wells staff encouraged drivers with idling engines outside the theatre to switch them off and reduce pollution today as part of the Vehicle Idling Action campaign. Supported by the Mayor of London and delivered in association with Islington Council, the initiative aims to improve the city’s air quality.

Four volunteers from Sadler’s Wells’ Green Team, the group of staff responsible for driving and monitoring our Sustainability policy and action plan and supporting environmental initiatives, took time away from their desks to speak to drivers outside the theatre, asking them to switch their engines off when not in use and encouraging them to make a ‘no idling’ pledge. They also thanked those drivers who weren’t idling. The volunteers were able to speak to a number of drivers and spread the word about how switching off their engines could lead to better air quality.

As a cultural organisation working locally, nationally and internationally, Sadler’s Wells is committed to reducing the impact of our activities on the environment, as well as to raising awareness of, and promoting debate on, climate change. We were pleased to take part in the campaign and contribute to lower levels of pollution in our local community.

You can read more about Sadler’s Wells sustainability policy here.

Images: Rachel McClure and Elsa Stevens with drivers they spoke to as part of the Vehicle Idling Action campaign. 

National Dance Awards nominations are announced

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Nominees have been announced for the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards 2017 and we are delighted that a number of artists and companies we present and support are among them.

Our Associate Artists Akram Khan and Crystal Pite have received nominations in the Best Classical Choreographer category. Akram is recognised for his choreography of Giselle for our Associate Company English National Ballet, a Sadler’s Wells co-production. Crystal has been nominated for two works: Emergence, which we presented as part of a double bill by Scottish Ballet in June, and Flight Pattern, presented at the Royal Opera House in March.

Matthew Bourne and Michael Keegan-Dolan, also Sadler’s Wells Associate Artists, are up for the Best Modern Choreography Award. Matthew has been nominated for The Red Shoes, which had its world premiere at Sadler’s Wells in December 2016, while Michael Keegan-Dolan has been recognised for Swan Lake/Loch na hEala, which we presented in November 2016 and will return to our stage later this month.

We are thrilled to see that Botis Seva has been nominated in the Emerging Artist category. Botis presented a Wild Card evening in our Lilian Baylis Studio in 2015 and also took part in Open Art Surgery and Back To The Lab, Breakin’ Convention’s artistic development programmes. Composer Vincenzo Lamagna is also nominated for the same honour, for his music for Akram Khan’s Giselle.

Dancer Ashley Shaw, of our Resident Company New Adventures, is among the Outstanding Female Performance (modern) nominees for her performance as Vicky Page in The Red Shoes, while Syrian-born, France-based dancer and choreographer Mithkal Alzghair has been nominated for Outstanding Male Performance (modern) for Displacement, which we presented in the Lilian Baylis Studio in July, as part of the Shubbak festival.

In the Outstanding Female Performance (classical) category, nominees include English National Ballet’s Alina Cojocaru for her leading role in Giselle and Scottish Ballet’s Bethany Kingsley-Garner, for her performance in Emergence. The Award for Outstanding Male Performance (classical) sees English National Ballet’s James Streeter nominated for his role as Albrecht in Giselle, Scottish Ballet’s Christopher Harrison for his performance in MC 14/22 (Ceci est mon corps), presented here in summer alongside Emergence, and Israel Galván  for his performance in FLA.CO.MEN, which he performed at Sadler’s Wells’ Flamenco Festival in February 2017. Eva Yerbabuena, who also performed her show Apariencias at the Flamenco Festival, is nominated for the Grishko Award for Best Female Dancer and the Outstanding Female Performance (classical) award.

Birmingham-based Rosie Kay Dance Company, whose sold-out run of 5 SOLDIERS: The Body is The Frontline we presented at Yeomanry House in September, is up for Best Independent Company.

The full nominations’ list is available here. Winners will be announced on 19 February 2018, when two other honours will be bestowed: the De Valois Award for Outstanding Achievement and the One Dance UK Industry Award.

Many congratulations to all on their well-deserved nominations and best of luck!

Image: Laurent Liotardo 

Dancer and choreographer Mavin Khoo discusses Darbar Festival

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For the first time ever this November, Sadler’s Wells will be hosting Darbar Festival, a celebration of Indian classical dance. Building on its success since launching over ten years ago, Darbar and Sadler’s Wells have joined forces to offer an unprecedented classical dance programme specifically curated by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Akram Khan. One of the artists performing is Mavin Khoo, an internationally renowned Bharatanatyam dancer, who is also Artistic Director of ŻfinMalta Dance Ensemble and rehearsal director for the Akram Khan company. In Indian Adventures of Sitar and Dance, he will present a newly devised solo as part of an ongoing collaboration with vocalist OS Arun. We spoke to him about his relationship with the Bharatanatyam dance form and what he is particularly looking forward to seeing at the festival.

Can you tell us a little bit about what to expect from your solo piece at Darbar Festival?

My solo is essentially a one act journey that is developed out of 2 lines from a traditional music composition called the Varnam. Essentially by using the lines that say…’My lord, it is only you that I have total belief and conviction in, please do not be indifferent to me now’, a whole world is developed whereby the heroine experiences romantic love and longing, to sensuous erotic consummation, to loss and despair, death and finally spiritual transcendence. All in 45 minutes! The things that audiences can look for is my exploration into dancing from a female protagonist’s voice (something that has been an area of development since I made my solo debut at the age of 16). The second thing is the collaborative relationship with OS Arun, the ‘live’ sense which comes from a strong improvisational framework within the work. The marriage of dance that is stimulated by musical ‘in the moment’ choices and vice versa.

This piece is part of an ongoing collaboration between vocalist OS Arun and yourself – what has it been like to work together?

The relationship over the last 10 years has been deep, eye opening, stimulating, challenging. Arun took me into a whole new realm of musicality and depth. The first time we worked together, it was an immediate sense of challenge and he pushed me to challenge him and ensure that musically, I would equal him through dance. There is no element that is stronger than the other: they have to work side by side. He also further gave me the confidence to take risks in performance: that the ‘live’ element is truly live with the choices I would make. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t but that’s the point.

How did you come to study and master Bharatanatyam?

I started training in Malaysia as a young 5 year old. By the time I was 10, I was very fortunate to be chosen to be a disciple of the legendary dance Guru of Bharatanatyam, Padma Shri Adyar K. Lakshman. I was 16 when I was presented in my full length solo debut and literally I was so blessed that my career immediately took off. The very next year, I was invited to inaugurate the renowned Music and Dance Festival at Krishna Gana Sabha in Chennai which is I guess the Royal Opera House of Chennai when it comes to classical music and dance. Everything happened rapidly from there. I am far from being a master, but I live my life steeped into the form and keep going deeper and deeper to find more freedom.

You’re fluent in so many different dance styles, but what do you think is particularly special about Bharatanatyam and classical Indian dance as a whole? 

I think what is really particular about Bharatanatyam when it is done well, is first and foremost the notion of interpretation of text with a strong musical backbone- what we refer to as Abhinaya. When this is done well, it is truly a transcendental experience. Yes, there are other elements like its pure dance technique, rhythm, lines, foot work. But, for me, its uniqueness and artistry and the element that can’t just be learned and produced without a deep sense of surrender is this. I would say that this is the case of Indian classical dance as a whole.

You’re also going to be doing a live coaching session with BBC Young Dancer finalist Lakshmi Ranjan. What do you hope audiences will be able to take away from watching the relationship between student and teacher?

It’s very specific, what I will be doing with Lakshmi. When the idea of a session was suggested, I felt it was really important to share the depth with which we work and should work. The idea of interrogating a line to find innumerable possibilities of interpretation is something that is special of all classical interpretive roles. The same can be said when one is coaching Giselle or Swan Lake. What do we do when we revisit these classics? What more is there to search? These are some of the things I wish to share with Lakshmi and the audience.

Sadler’s Wells is staging Darbar Festival for the first time. Are you excited about any other performers or shows at the festival?

Extremely excited! Mythili is one of the most exceptional dancers of her generation, dearly loved and admired in Chennai and all around the world. Aditi Mangaldas is a legend and Dheerendra, I have heard so many fantastic things about him so I can’t wait to see him. I am of course so happy that Akram will be dancing – what he gives in his dance today is something beyond form. I am also happy to see that Seeta Patel has been given such a good opportunity, as this is a good benchmark for other British-based young South Asian artists to work towards.

Darbar Festival ran at Sadler’s Wells on 9-12 November.

In Conversation with Nilda Guerra and Rodney Barreto from Vamos Cuba!

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Set in the crazy chaos of Havana Airport, Vamos Cuba! is a spectacular celebration of Cuban dance and music, currently playing at The Peacock theatre. Choreographed by Nilda Guerra, who was also the creator of the smash-hit Havana Rakatan, the show also features a live band led by acclaimed Cuban musician Rodney Barreto and a cast of Cuba’s most talented dancers and musicians. We caught up with Nilda and Rodney to talk about the show’s strong musical influences and how Vamos Cuba! perfectly expresses the Cuban spirit of optimism.

How did the idea of Vamos Cuba! come about and what was the inspiration behind it?

Nilda Guerra: We wanted to explore the idea of being in the airport, and how that is quite a controversial thing for Cuba. It’s a struggle for Cubans, because we cannot leave the country, so we wanted to create something for ourselves. Our cast are just waiting in the airport, so that they can communicate and tell stories with each other.

We have been working on this project a long time and we wanted to bring it to England, as a contemporary production with Cuban music from the 1950s until now, and working with Cuban artists and English producers. We all have an idea of Cuba, that it’s all about mambo and cha-cha-cha, but we felt that we really needed to show more than just the commercial part.

The show has undergone a little bit of a transformation since you last performed it at Sadler’s Wells, can you tell us about what has changed and what audiences can expect?

Rodney Barreto: We have new songs in the show! This isn’t just traditional music, we also included different Cuban genres, like straight ahead jazz. The audience can also hear timba and the evolution of salsa.

Can you tell us a little bit about the casting for the show?

NG: I really am a lucky woman with this cast! Right now we have nine of the best Cuban musicians in the band. For instance Rodney, who has worked with famous Cuban musicians such as the pianist Chucho Valdés. We didn’t know we were going to have such a beautiful cast! There are 14 dancers, and interestingly 12 of these are the principal dancers, when normally you only have four.

Dance seems to be hugely significant to Cuban culture. How do you represent this and other elements of your culture in the show?   

NG: The dancing and the music has a connection. Music and dancing is ingrained in family heritage, in Cuban life. In Cuba dancing motivates the musicians to create a different type of style, a rich style. We have influences from Spain, Africa, and America. That’s why I always try and bring the musicians and dancers together because I cannot see the dancers dancing with just recorded music, that’s really safe for the producer but really bad for the show, because it doesn’t have a life. It is the connection with the dancers and the music that is the most important element to the show.

RB: Within the show we also wanted to include something about the folklore and religious element of Cuban culture. It’s a big part of many people’s lives there, being closely connected to religion and praying. There’s a special vocal part in the show which really focuses on that.

We feel that we have all the Cuban cultural styles in the show, which is shown in the change in music, like the cha-cha, blues, reggae, mambo, timba, it’s all included.

What is your favourite thing about this new production?

NG: I think for me the music plays an important part. The way it moves through the audience and the sensation of it is probably my favourite element of the show. It’s a history show so it’s complicated for the dancers to express that drama, but I think the music helps and really gives you all the energy and emphasises the emotion of the show.

How would you sum up the show in three words? 

NG: I would say maybe ‘Cuba for now’.

RB: Yeah, I would maybe say ‘The Cuban Reality’. This is the way things happen in Cuba, maybe not for everybody. Cubans often make the best of the situation. Even if, for example, we found out there was a flight delay, maybe we’d be a little upset, but 5 minutes later we say ‘whatever’ and we find something to do, deal with the situation, maybe make some friends. That’s the Cuban lifestyle that we wanted to show our audience.

NG: The Cuban way of doing things, even if we dream about travel and leaving the country, is just to laugh and have fun!

RB: It is the meaning of the show. We cannot show every problem that we have, but we do want to portray the optimism that Cubans have. If we have a problem, we have to laugh. We share with people no matter what.

Vamos Cuba! plays at The Peacock theatre until 11th November. Book tickets here.

The Movement – Vamos Cuba! Social Mover Review

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Evelyn Francourt is one of four London-based Social Movers for The Movement  – an Arts Council funded partnership among three of the country’s leading dance venues; Sadler’s Wells, Birmingham Hippodrome and The Lowry, which aims to promote dance across the UK.

Here Evelyn tells us all about her experience of watching the Cuban dance extravaganza Vamos Cuba! at The Peacock Theatre. 

London is chilly and crisp at the moment – Autumn has kicked in and there is a whisper of Christmas in the air but on Tuesday 24th October for my second outing as a Social Mover for The Movement we were transported to the sultry climes of Havana, Cuba for the opening night of Vamos Cuba! –  an evening of uplifting, frothy dance, music and laughter.

Nilda Guerra’s Vamos Cuba! at the Peacock Theatre tells the story of a group of passengers stranded in Havana airport with the airline crew for the night after their flight to Miami is delayed. What unfolds is a collection of beautifully danced mini drama’s bringing romance, comedy, highs and lows told with a mixture of solo’s, duets and group ensembles.

The characters read from a slap-stick comedy; a not-quite-what-he-seems priest, a romantically involved pilot and air hostess, a flirtatious femme fatale, a porter, a doctor and a no-nonsense customs officer to name a few.

With two romantic story lines there are some beautiful duets however what is captivating about Vamos Cuba! is the shift in tempo, style and visuals. Duets are interspersed with group routines; there’s a mixture of Latin and Afro Cuban dance styles including Salsa, Mambo, Cha-cha-cha, Reggaeton plus Contemporary dance. We see costumes ranging from carnival head dresses to suitcases as props, all of which makes Vamos Cuba! a riot of colour and energy.

The second act adds a change of pace and tone with a dreamlike sequence that delves into Cuba’s cultural history. Dancer Katia Pèrez is elegant and statuesque and performs a beautifully choreographed piece that touches on Cuban history.

What set this show apart for me was the amazing live band; the two singers are onstage throughout the performance and weave into the narrative and it is the vocals and sass of Geidy Chapman that particularly stands out.

The evening ended with a salsa class. There is something about dancing en-masse, in sync with percussive music that is so uplifting that it stands as a reminder of how good dance is for the soul.

Vamos Cuba! is not your typical dance performance – it’s a snapshot of Cuban culture; a showcase of multi talented dancers; an evening of high energy live music; a sensory riot with an atmosphere so contagious that you will find yourself undulating on the dance floor to Salsa music afterwards.

Not bad for a Tuesday night in chilly London.

Vamos Cuba! is at the Peacock Theatre from 24th October until 11th November 2017. Book tickets here. 

Image credit: Johan Persson